The current COVID-19 pandemic and State directives have impacted the ability of school staff to comply with the requirements of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. State law has not changed, however. The provisions of 5 ILCS 140 remain in full force and effect, despite the fact that almost all school employees are working from home and ordinary operating resources and working conditions related to document recovery and reproduction are not available to them. Illness may create further complications for key staff. Nonetheless, recognizing the need for transparency in public business matters, WPS60 staff will do their best to fully comply with the letter and spirit of FOIA.

As a reminder, 5 ILCS 140/3(e) allows a public body to extend the time for response by 5 additional days for certain situations, several of which are likely to be present for the near future, and to work with requesters when even more time is needed. On that basis, we request that you allow 30 calendar days for the District's initial response, and if that is unacceptable to you, we ask that you contact the undersigned in writing to establish a mutually agreed reasonable schedule for the District's response to your request. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation as we all face the challenges created by the current public health crisis.

Kayla Wolf
FOIA Officer